Subway sues TV network over soy chicken story

(CBS NEWS) When fast-food chain Subway got accused of putting non-poultry filler in its chicken sandwiches, it was mad as a wet hen.

The world’s largest restaurant chain is suing the Canadian Broadcasting Company over a broadcast that claimed the chain’s sandwiches were almost half soy, the New York Post reports. The network’s “Marketplace” segment in February conducted DNA testing on chicken sandwiches from a number of major chains. It reported that Subway’s had the lowest amount, containing 43 to 54 percent chicken DNA.

Subway disputed the CBC’s report at the time, calling it a “misrepresentation,” and said last month it would sue for $210 million.

Now it has filed the suit in an Ontario provincial court, according to the Post. Subway claims in the filing that the CBC’s tests “lacked scientific rigor” and were conducted by people who lacked training, the Post writes. The company also claims that the CBC’s broadcast hurt sales, writing that the company “suffered special damages as a result of sales losses in the Subway stores,” according to the outlet.

In a statement, a CBC spokesman said, “CBC intends to defend our position accordingly and as this is now a matter before the courts, we have no further comment.” Subway did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Subway’s parent company,U.S-based Doctor’s Associates, is facing its own lawsuit over the CBC story. The complaint, filed by customer Craig Moskowitz in federal district court in Connecticut, accuses Subway of defrauding consumers and misleading them about the chicken content of its sandwiches. Moskowitz, a Stamford, Connecticut, resident, filed the class action on behalf of himself and other Subway eaters, citing the CBC account.

The CBC has until May 1 to respond to Subway’s filing, the Post indicated.